Posts Tagged ‘cheers’

Haven’t seen Charlie in a while, have we? Man, I need to update her hairstyle.

Shrek the Third comes out this weekend and I’m in this weird position where I don’t want to see it… but I kind of do.

I can’t explain myself. I saw both Shrek and Shrek 2 and never really enjoyed them. I find them too arch and winking. In fact, I think Cami and I once rented the first Shrek movie when it first came out on DVD and couldn’t bother to complete it. We were just kind of like “Ehhh… kind of funny the first time. Not in the least bit funny the second time.” I don’t even remember what Shrek 2 was all about.

With their abundance of flatulence jokes, they are most certainly for kids. But the producers work very hard to throw in jokes for adults and, for me, it make for an uneven affar. I’m a bit of an animation purist. I don’t mean to imply that the medium is strictly for children. But if that’s your primary audience, take Gold Five’s advice and “Stay on target!” Too much of the adult stuff and it dilutes things. Part of the reason I got to animated movies is because I like to feel like I’m being transported to a time in my life when things weren’t so damn complicated. I mean, every now an again Pixar will toss in an adult joke in their movies. But I feel they’re typically more organic. The Shrek movies make it feel like a formula = “fart joke x fart joke / sex joke = box office”

This is an entirely subjective reaction, of course. But I believe there are more concrete reasons to hate the Shrek franchise. The over-abundance of marketing tie-in’s for one. I addressed it back when Shrek 2 was in theaters and it’s no less true now. You can’t go to the grocery store without looking at that freckled green ogre’s mug slapped all over the place. What I especially hate are those poorly dubbed commercials on TV right now where Shrek and Donkey are interacting with the M&M guys or buying a Happy Meal at McDonalds and the voices are SO CLEARLY not Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy.

Look, I know they’re big stars whose vocal “talents” these companys probably can’t afford. But there should be someone at Dreamworks that says “If you’re going to use Shrek characters in your spots, then we recommend these two voice-approximate doubles.” You see these commercials and it’s like they’re not even using the same impersonators. It’s really annoying.

More than anything, I’m annoyed that due to the success of the Shrek franchise, (and this is something Gordon and I talked about in Monday’s Triple Feature talkcast) Mike Meyer hasn’t taken a creative leap in over half a decade. A cursory glance at his listing over at IMDB reflect only two starring roles since the first Shrek hit theaters in 2001 – Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Cat in the Hat. I’ll give him a pass on Goldmember because (even though he was plagiarizing himself in the first two movies) there was some original invention going on there. The less said about The Cat and The Hat, the better. Beyond that, only a few cameo roles unbecoming of one of Hollywood’s highest paid actors.

I completely understand how money has probably insulated Meyers from doing anything out of the box. I can see the appeal of rolling out of bed, doing a few hours of voice over work in a studio, avoiding the makeup chair and the chaos of a full-blown movie set. But speaking as a fan of Meyers ability to insert catchphrases into the lexicon with lazer-like precision, I’m amazed that he’s not taking the opportunity to do something more.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. He could have turned out like Eddie Murphy and starred in crap like The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Daddy Day Care an Norbit post-Shrek. Maybe THAT’S the bigger wasted opportunity!

Despite all of the reasons NOT to see Shrek the Third, I’m morbidly curious to see what it’s like. I didn’t want to see Shrek 2 when it came out, but Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots made the movie for me. He’s the most memorable thing in it and I still chuck when I think of how he delivered his introduction – “PUSSSSSS!… (in boots!)” Excellent.

To that end, I think I may have been won over by the casting. In one of the movie’s subplots, Cameron Diaz as Fiona leads a band of other princesses to defend the land of Far Far Away and she has Amy Sedaris, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler and Mya Rudolph behind her. Throw in John Krasinski from The Office, Seth Rogen from The 40 Year-Old Virigin, Ian McShane from Deadwood and you have my attention. Stunt casting – 60% of the time, it works every time. They’ve done studies, you know!

So what’s your opinion out there in the intertubes? Are you excited for Shrek the Third or do you think it will be more of the same? Have you ordered all your Shrek merchandise yet and will you be wearing it to the theater on Friday/? Are you like me and suckered by high-profile voice casting or do you think it cheapens animation by distracting you from the artisanship of an animator’s craft?

People who have been reading the site for a while know that traditionally, I like to do a little wrap up for each of the conventions I attend. Typically, I end up seeing a movie with whomever I’m with and I talk about it here.

The only problem with going to Wizard World Chicago this year is that there weren’t any good movies to see!

We toyed with seeing Rush Hour 3, but frankly, too many people were against it. If they went, they’d be going to rip it a new one. Myself likely included. The inside joke of this comic is that Gordon is the one suggesting we go see it. He was probably most against it of anyone.

Oh, and Brandon J. Carr’s wife really did make him swear not to see Stardust without her.

As always, it was a treat to attend Wizard World Chicago and exhibit on Artist’s Alley. I would have liked to have sold a little more merchandise, but I did about as much business as last year, so at least I’m not backsliding.

The Spoilershirts are always a big hit at conventions. I have one of them pulled over a mannequin torso I stand up on my table. Invariably people stop to comment on it. Either they laugh and walk away saying “That’s a great shirt!” Or they laugh and say “I gotta get that shirt.” I suppose the third option is when I get to talk to the person and explain which spoilers come from which movies.

I’ve been selling the Spoiler shirt for the last three years. At times, I wish I could come up with another t-shirt design that would sell just as well. A t-shirt design that isn’tSpoiler II. But what can I say? They’re the breadwinners and you gotta stick with a winning horse.

I don’t know that I sold as many books as I would have liked to. But I think I hit on a new merchandising structure that I’ll probably employ in the store soon – everything will be $15 and you’ll get 15%, 20% and 25% discounts the more stuff you buy! I think it will be really attractive to you guys and will help me keep things organized on my side.

I don’t mean to harp on the money aspect of things so much. That’s really only a small portion of the exhibiting experience. I’m grateful that I’m able to sell anything at all! It always amazes me.

I did a lot of good networking at this convention. I got to meet Brandon for the first time and DJ Coffman from Yirmumah and Hero By Night as well. They couldn’t have been nicer. Really easy to talk to and a lot of fun to be around. We all kind of share the same sense of humor, so it makes things easy. For all practical purposes, someone like Brandon is a complete stranger. But within minutes I was joking around with him and having a blast.

I was interviewed by a few online and offline publications and that was pretty cool. I have a wallet full of business cards on stuff I want to follow up on. Professionally and socially, I would say it was a really successful convention!

That said, the last day of a convention is the worst. Part of you is counting down the hours until you have to pack up your stuff and ship out and that’s never fun. And then, for me, the car ride home is tortuous. I have no one to help me cover the 6 hours from Chicago to Des Moines, so I’m often left with my own thoughts.

We talked a little bit about this on Monday’s Triple Feature broadcast, but there is no way you can go to one of these conventions and NOT compare yourself professionally to the other artists in attendance. You end up looking around and asking yourself “What am I doing WRONG?”

Every convention is a good learning opportunity to see into other artist’s process and business practices. I constantly find myself taking mental notes for things to try when I get home.

As exhausting as it can be to constantly compare yourself, going to Wizard World Chicago has revitalized me. I think also having crossed the five-year anniversary milestone has inspired me make Theater Hopper stronger. Not just the comic, but the entire Theater Hopper experience.

I want to rid the THorum and the front page comments section of spammers and bring back the positive, excited atmosphere. I want to be seen more among my peers in online communities and talk more about comics with them. I want to do more guest comics – just because. I want my site to look better. I want to try new things. I want to advertise in unconventional places and spread the word about Theater Hopper.

I’m proud of what I do. Five years and two self-published books under your belt can do that for you. But it doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve. I’m at the point now that I’m considering outside help to spruce up the site. In some respects, if Theater Hopper is going to be taken seriously, I have to treat it like a professional venture. This is much more than a hobby site we’re talking about. I’ve experimented with a lot of things. Now it’s time to make them stick.

When I learned Charlton Heston had passed away over the weekend, I was kind of shocked. I don’t know why. After all, it’s perfectly within the scope of reason that an 84 year-old man suffering the later stages of Alzheimer’s might be lost to us at some point.

Yet, when confronted with the reality of the situation, it’s tough to accept. It seems that in some for or another, Charlton Heston had always been known to me. Admittedly, as little time as I spend thinking about Heston specifically, you never really prepare yourself for the idea of a world without the guy.

Depending on your own beliefs, it could be easy to characterize Heston as a villian for his gun control stance in his later years. Personally, I never agreed with it and found his appearance with the NRA in town days after the Columbine massacre tasteless. How much of that was actually Heston’s idea versus the NRA pulling his strings, I suppose we’ll never know. Unfortunately, he might be as well known for his podium posturing and “…from my cold, dead hands!” speech than for any of the famous roles he played.

It’s particularly difficult for me to reconcile Heston’s pro-gun ownership position considering his history as a civil rights activist in the ’60’s. Here’s someone who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. – a strong proponent of NON violence. Where’d the gun thing come from?

I suppose you could say it was all about freedom. Freedom between men, freedom to arm yourself if you so choose, freedom from the hands of others that would try to steer your course in life. That aligns much more with my vision of who Heston was as a man.

Of course Heston leaves behind and amazing legacy in film as well. From Ben Hur to The Ten Commandments to Planet of the Apes, this guy was in more iconic movies than you can shake a stick at. Also, let’s not forget The Omega Man because The Omega Man is awesome. He makes Will Smith in I Am Legend look like a total pansy.

So, here’s to Charlton Heston. May he rest in peace.

I’m sure Heston’s passing is something we’ll be discussing tonight on The Triple Feature – as well as the weekend’s new releases. Curious that 21 held onto the top spot against George Clooney in Leatherheads and Jodie Foster in Nim’s Island. Two Oscar winners can’t take down a movie about some Dawson’s Creek rejects counting cards?

We’ll be discussing all that and more tonight at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe. Be sure to listen to the broadcast live and submit your questions to the chat field. We took a few calls last week and that was a good time. We’d love to do it again!